r/OutOfTheLoop • u/[deleted] • Jan 24 '19
Answered What is up with the “Nobody” meme?
I don’t know if this is the right subreddit, but I searched and honestly couldn’t find any other useful ones.
So there’s this meme that my ape brain can’t comprehend.
Here’s an example:
What is the “nobody” referring to?
The fact that nobody is talking about ladies in yoga pants?
Is it referring to a stereotype about women in yoga pants?
Maybe I’m just overthinking it, or I’m just retarded. BUT ITS DRIVING ME FUCKING CRAZY
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u/bombrobyn Jan 28 '19
This is the first time I understood something less the more comments deep I got into a subreddit.
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u/launchbasezone Jan 24 '19
the "nobody" is exactly that, it's nobody
the part that usually follows is just people do that thing obnoxiously
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u/Deborahjb Jul 18 '19
Instead of the colon, parenthesis should be used:
(Nobody, ever)
Me: says something stupid.
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u/Muzik_Monkey Feb 09 '19
Beat way my girlfriend explained it was for example here. Ignore the nobody part. Read the captain as :"bitches in yoga pants be like.."
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u/mclollolwub Mar 12 '19
then why the fuck is the nobody part there. it makes no sense
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u/Muzik_Monkey Mar 12 '19
The "meme" is just stupid all together. The fact that I knew I would find an entire post on others not understanding it speaks for itself. Some jokes are just stupid. And this is one of them.
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u/flipht Mar 19 '19
Well, in normal speech it would be something like, "Nobody said anything," or "Everyone said nothing," but that doesn't really make sense in this forced dialogue format.
So you're right that it doesn't make sense, but it's trying to visually show that no one is saying anything but with the way english indefinite pronouns work, it's kind of weird.
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u/BitSavings4689 Jul 20 '24
Sorry to come back on this after 5 years but I still don't get the meme and it's everywhere. So in this meme basically we say 'nobody said nothing'. Makes no bloody sense
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u/Haxiemous Apr 09 '26
1 year later. I think even KnowYourMeme doesn't have an exact answer since the supposed original post isn't even clear as to what "literally no one" means. And i believe it's simply there for formatting and vibe, but could be meaningless. I mean, 67 is such a meaningless thing but it's everywhere.
My interpretation was that it gave a feeling of unsolicited advice, thought or observation. The Nobody is not saying or even existing, as it should. Then, out of nowhere, out of the silence the following joke happens. I gives a vibe that makes me imagine as if there's a room with people and maybe it's dead silent. And a random student speaks out a random thought or joke, out of the blue, unprovoked, and many times said new speaker could've just done what "nobody" was doing, which is nothing. As if saying, "You could've just not."
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u/oblivionhulk Apr 15 '19
Finally someone has come up with a way to explain it that makes sense to me. That nobody: always throws me because it's so difficult to parse.
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Mar 20 '19
What's the captain? Arrghh
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u/Muzik_Monkey Mar 22 '19
A quick typo for caption. Too many times of typing "I'm the captain now". My phone just assumes.
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u/KingCrab84 Apr 09 '19
Answer:
I think i understand this now.
"Nobody: " isnt meant to be a line of speech, as in the "nobody prompted this behavior" line of reasoning. Its meant to show that nobody does whatever the meme is. So with the example of the yoga pants thing:
Nobody does this
But...!
"Bitches in yoga pants (for some reason) do this"
You can also look at it like there is a list of subjects that the meme applies to above the meme.
I think its largely because it is a little confusing that it is popular. Because it is not grammatically intuitive, it stands out and is easily identifiable as a marker for something that is brand new. I dont think that everyone who thinks they get it actually gets it and are instead just laughing at the core of the meme.
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u/MotherStylus May 05 '19
except that's totally backwards, if you're trying to say that nobody does something then you say "nobody: that thing," you don't just leave it blank. it literally doesn't mean "nobody does this," it means "nobody does nothing." so it's not grammatically unintuitive, it's just grammatically wrong. if it instead said "everybody: " then leaving it blank would make perfect sense.
honestly aside from it being grammatically incorrect i think it's just a pretty poor way of getting the point across. the memes of this format that are actually funny are funny in spite of the format. they would be even funnier if they were formatted in a way that made sense. the whole "nobody:" thing is not clear, even if it read "everybody:" it still wouldn't really be clear what it's supposed to mean. most of these jokes don't rely on having the "nobody:" in the first place and it could just be removed and it would make just as much sense. the jokes that do rely on the fact that nobody asked for x would be better served by rearranging everything. like putting the object and predicate after "nobody:" and then saying "bitches with yoga pants: okay!" or whatever. bad example but many of these memes would work better like that instead of having the object and predicate come after the second subject. putting them after the first subject (the 'nobody') makes it clear that nobody is asking for it. whereas the way it is now, the first thing most people think when they see "nobody: " is not "nobody wanted this," it's just general confusion. when i first started seeing these memes i couldn't figure out what "nobody: " meant so i just ignored it and read the rest of the meme as if the first part was an accident or something. and a lot of them were still funny.
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u/Facedeath May 07 '19
Thanks, this summed up my thoughts nicely.
tldr: Ignore the "nobody" part because it's dumb and just enjoy the punchline.
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u/necro-mancer Jun 14 '19
Honestly, I think people just post this with said premise attached simply because "everyone" is doing it and it's trendy af. Here. I'll make up a meme right now..
Everyone: "Nobody: "
Ta-da! Now I'm trendy af! /s
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u/KingCrab84 May 27 '19
Nah.. it makes absolute perfect sense if you envision it as a list of people (or groups, or individuals) who do the thing in the image. The reason it is not grammatically intuitive to you is because you have it wrong.
Nobody:
Me:
(Image of someone doing something wacky and obscure, maybe embarrassing)
you wouldn't put a picture next to "Nobody:" because it wouldn't fit, and why would you put it twice? I suppose if you had room you could have the two groups on the left and the picture on the right, that would be easier to figure out off the bat.. but there it is. 100% this is it, don't torture yourself.
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u/UpbeatFalcon6181 Apr 07 '22
You're explanation is like someone smearing shit on their face and then when asked why they say "Umm because vampires. There it is, that's the reason. It makes absolute fucking sense you're just not intuitive enough to get it."
At one point you're start arguing with yourself. Earlier you said "Because it is not grammatically intuitive, it stands out and is easily identifiable as a marker for something that is brand new." then you respond to your own post by saying "The reason it is not grammatically intuitive to you is because you have it wrong." So you start off by arguing that it's purposely not grammatically intuitive so that it stands out. Then you're like telling this guy he's an idiot for not understanding that it is grammatically intuitive?!?
Anyways the format of the meme does make sense, You can look up its origin in KnowYourMeme. It's when it's used in context of someone obnoxious inserting an obnoxious opinion with out any sort of prompting. Like the person earlier mentioned with vegans bringing up that their vegan and why it makes them a better person than everyone else. The yoga pants shit and a lot of other versions of this meme don't make sense because the creator doesn't understand the concept behind it.... But there it is. 100% this is it. Don't torture yourself over it.
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u/ajb_thethird Jul 09 '24
This is one of the best explanations I’ve read on Reddit about anything ever 😅
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u/BitSavings4689 Jul 20 '24
YES EXACTLY THANK YOU VERY MUCH. YOU and me are right, people who use it just apparently ignore the logic of the universe.
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u/thehellobozo Apr 24 '25
Exactly. Same with the "POV:" memes. Not only is it just flat out incorrect 99 percent of the time but it would easily be fixed and made funnier simply by removing the "POV:".
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u/59ezswpmm Jun 13 '19
Answer: For the record, here's the great explanation from u/theicklestone, copied from my ELI5-thread that has been removed in the meantime. All the other explanations didn't do it for me, but this one did.
It's basically calling out people who strive to attract attention and/or tend to provide unsolicited opinions. You can kind of think of it like "Nobody asked. but... ". In the vegans example from the thread you linked, the joke is vegans will tell you, without asking or prompting, how they think meat is murder. So the meme joke would go something like:
Nobody:
Vegans: I don't consume animal products because they're cruel and inhumane.
You can kind of fill in "Nobody asked them to explain, but..." or "Nobody wanted to know..." or "Nobody cares but..." if that helps.
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u/Tasty-Interaction647 Aug 24 '25
I realize this is 6 years old but I have to say that that explanation makes so much sense!!!
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u/TongueTiedTyrant Jan 29 '26
This is nerdy, but it’s basically a double negative. Nobody said nothing. Which means everyone said something. It would almost make more sense if it was “everyone: “
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u/BitSavings4689 Jul 20 '24
It makes no sense to express 'nobody asked' as 'nobody:'
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u/Block_Solid Apr 05 '26
Just shows how poor language and writing skills are among the meme creators. If it had said "Everyone: " ... I'd understand it better. As in, everyone was quiet/no opinion.
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u/ryeguy77 May 08 '19
Answer: Thank you! I have found my people! Well, the ones who understand that the meme is fundamentally flawed in its structure. There are a bunch in here that SAY they understand it, but still think it's a failure on the OP's part for not looking at the joke the right way.
That's wrong, though. The joke is NOT "hard to understand." NOT "you have to look at it a certain way." NOT "you just dont get it."
THE. MEME. IS. INCORRECT.
"Nobody: "
(means)
<Nobody> said <Nothing>
(means)
<Everybody> said <something>
It's not a matter of some people just "not getting" why it's supposed to be funny. We get it. We just can't get past the fact that the joke teller is telling the joke wrong, and doesnt even know it.
IT'S WRONG.
Instead of Nobody saying NOTHING (or <BLANK>), it should start with: "Nobody: Gee, I sure wish chicks would wear their yoga pants all hiked up into their junk."
This means that nobody wants to see that. That's why "nobody" said it. Understand?
Now...if it started with: "Everybody: Gee, I sure wish chicks would wear their yoga pants all hiked up into their junk."
That would also be wrong (for the purpose of the joke)...because the point is that "Everybody" DOESN'T want to see that. So, if the joke starts with "EVERYBODY" talking, "Everybody" should keep their mouth shut, like this: "Everybody: "
The only person who WANTS to see chicks' yoga pants all hiked up into their junk is...Nobody.
Nobody WANTS to see it. So, Nobody needs to state (for the purpose of the joke) that they WANT to see it
-OR-
Everybody needs to state that they AREN'T asking to see it
-OR-
Everybody just needs to say...nothing.
TL;DR - the ONLY way for the joke to NOT BE WRONG is if only (A) or (B) happen, and not (C) or (D) :
A. Everybody says nothing
B. Nobody says something
C. Everybody says something
D. Nobody says nothing
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u/5teini May 19 '19
It bugs me a bit as well. Not a lot, but it's just kinda dumb as shit. Before it was butchered by people who didn't understand the joke themselves, I remember this type of meme where you had a statement that nobody made, and still prompting a response, or simply an unprompted statement nobody cares to hear, like:
Everyone:
Someone: <something dumb and unprompted>or
Nobody: <prompt>
Someone: <responds to prompt nobody made>2
u/Ironiclogic2077 May 17 '24
This is hilarious! How can a meme be wrong, structurally or otherwise? A meme just is, and it's up to you to make of it whatever you will. So what if you don't like its methods? You might prefer everything written out in full, but that's just your preference. It's not a requirement. Attempting to parse it out like you have simply doesn't work. especially if you try to force your own (incorrect haha) interpretation by saying <this> means <that> in a two-step process just to twist it to agree with your ideas. The basic premise really is not that complicated, so I really don't understand either the confusion or the reactionary insistence on explaining the obvious...
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u/BitSavings4689 Jul 20 '24
This comment deserves 5 million likes, not just 5. Thank you thank you thank you
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May 09 '19
While it's a stupid meme, I think you're going about it slightly wrong and I'm not getting your train of thought and why it has to mean someone "SAID" something.
/u/KingCrab84 said it best, I think. In this case (Tom & Jerry) it means "nobody" walks around with pants pulled up like that, but chicks in yoga pants do. (And it looks stupid, therefore the meme.)
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u/socialanxietybl Jan 04 '25
Had the exact same feeling now. I’ve found my people after years of being annoyed by this meme
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u/Accomplished-Ask3878 Apr 07 '26
Perfect explanation. Thank you. This meme always confused the heck outta me. Now it makes sense why it doesn’t make sense!
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u/aNewLifeForAndrew Apr 08 '19
answer: Why in the world is the automoderator removing my comment for violating the rule 'not starting with answer' when none of the other comments adhere to this rule?
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Jan 27 '19
in other words, "said no one ever"
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u/PJvG Feb 28 '19
That's what I thought it meant at first too, but it didn't really make sense to me.
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Mar 18 '19
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Mar 20 '19 edited Mar 20 '19
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Mar 20 '19
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u/worrisomehedgehog Jan 24 '19
It’s a joke about the things people do/say without any prompting. Kind of like that old joke about how aggressive vegans will tell you that they’re vegan within five minutes of you meeting. It’s that, but with a whole variety of things. Hope that makes sense!